of reaching that 75% milestone and giving us so much mentum -- momentum and enthusiasm that that goal, talk about a truly 20% city, is proving this can be down, right in front of us. let me end as i began -- enthusiastically. i do not think this is a big deal. i know this is a big deal. the more i tell, not just the state, but the country, and i see folks all around the world, and they are dumbfounded by what the city has accomplished. you know how cities really operate? what you do not want to understand is what goes on and goes down here. this is about waste water. this is the stuff that lies beneath the surface, and at the end of the day, it is the stuff that really matters because at the end of the day is the work that these guys are doing behind me in this building. jobs, the new economy, these mandates that brought people together, not divided people. no, garbage police are not out there. the business community did not disappear. quite the contrary. what we have done is raise the bar for others. we have given people the sense that this could be done. more to the point, why should you

. that is the spirit that brings us together at the swearing in. that should be the spirit that focuses and unites all of us. that is about collaboration, coordination, partnership. not just the public and private partnerships. it is also the public partnerships. it is about getting people to work and reducing anxiety and stress, creating opportunity and building the future of this city by focusing on investing in people and place. i am very grateful that you all took the time to be here. i see you wait too many commissioners to even mention them. -- i see way to mano many commissioners to even mention them along with department heads. i want to thank all of those assembled, family members in particular, for taking the time to come down. we're making a number of new appointments. we are making some reappointment. one that i cannot hesitate to or should not -- john newland and i go way back. i somehow became the president of the commission, i still do not know how that happened. newland came in to replace a former director and took over the show down there. he was running things, dpt for some time. i g

comfortable on some of these commissions. you get a little leverage over folks. sometimes people use it, some more subtle than others. rodney has never done that in any way that would solicit, from my perspective, any condonation or critique. -- condemnation or critique. he operates in places down there near fisherman's wharf. he does a great job and does it with integrity. thank you for your desire and willingness to serve. these are important positions. i am about to go to the bond ratings agencieses. they are waiting for me. we will try to keep our bond rating of their as the highest in california. we are proud of that. it is a remarkable thing, trust me. i cannot promise that is the way it will be in a week or two because we have depleted some reserves. i can promise you it will be better than nine out of 10 others because of the way we have managed the city finances. people love to critique and say we should spend money we do not have, but we have done justice to that. i say that because we are about to go out and sell about $1.8 billion bonds on the water improvement project. the figure

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